Ex-Newburgh star commits to Temple

When Jason McAllister's close friend, Sema'j Reed, left Newburgh four years ago, he knew he was destined for great things.

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By JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

recordonline.com

By JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:56 PM

By JUSTIN RODRIGUEZ

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:56 PM

» Social News

When Jason McAllister's close friend, Sema'j Reed, left Newburgh four years ago, he knew he was destined for great things.

For starters, Reed was a freak athlete. His favorite sport was basketball, but he also excelled in football. Then there was Reed the person.

"Sema'j just always did the right thing," said McAllister, a freshman wide receiver at SUNY Cortland who helped Newburgh Free Academy to the Class AA state title game in 2011. "He knew right from wrong and he was always humble. Sema'j always had a positive attitude. I always knew he would make it."

Reed made his friends back home in Newburgh proud when he signed a letter of intent to play at Temple on Wednesday. He left the mid-Hudson before his freshman year at Newburgh Free Academy to attend the prestigious Haverford School outside Philadelphia. Reed is a 6-foot-7, 285-pound two-way lineman who also received offers to play Division I basketball.

"I really didn't get into football until my junior year," said Reed, who said he also had full scholarship offers from Buffalo, Maryland and every Patriot and Ivy League school. He maintains a 3.6 grade-point average. "But I pretty much am what I am in football because of basketball. That's where I get my footwork, the skill set from. It made me a better player. I played football my whole life, starting with the New Windsor Eagles, and I'm excited about this opportunity."

Reed said his mother, Jacqueline, moved him out of Newburgh to pursue better opportunities. He still has family in Newburgh and visits often. Reed is still close friends with McAllister, Newburgh point guard Donovan Fields and former Newburgh two-way star lineman Mikal Myers, who now plays at UConn.

"I resented leaving," Reed said. "But at the end of the day, I sat down with the older peers in my life, and it was the best thing to do. It worked out and that's one of the reasons why I picked Temple. It's not far from Newburgh."

Tight end Kyle Nagel bypassed college after graduating from New Paltz last June, looking to market himself while playing at Milford Academy near Syracuse.

As it turns out, Nagel was his own best agent. Nagel, who is 6-2, 225 pounds, signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play at Sacred Heart in Connecticut. Sacred Heart is a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) school.

"I feel like a 1,000-pound weight has been taken off my back," said Nagel, who received an athletic/academic scholarship package that will cover about 75 percent of his expenses. "A lot of people in high school told me that I couldn't do this, that I wasn't big enough. Just proving them wrong makes it all worth it. I'm happy to be at Sacred Heart."

Nagel played for Milford, a prep football power this fall, leaving in December after one semester. He marketed himself on recruiting websites and said he was set to try to walk on at Penn State before Sacred Heart offered a scholarship after watching him work out in December. Nagel enrolled in classes at Sacred Heart last month.